Jet-quick Greens Baffle Pros -- O'grady Poised To Strike At Beman

April 12, 1986|By Larry Guest of The Sentinel Staff

AUGUSTA, GA. — The frightful speed of the Augusta National greens had the boys trotting out their best one-liners Friday evening after several three-putted their way out of the tournament and others saw their contending positions go trickling past the tricky pin placements into never-never land.

''They've got you putting off cliffs out there,'' said Tim Simpson, who missed the 36-hole cut by eight shots and compared the task to that of playing miniature golf. ''You have to putt it through the kangaroo's nose and off the dinosaur's foot.''

How fast are those putting surfaces, Hubert Green? ''At No. 9 and No. 18, you couldn't stand on them in dress shoes. You'd slide all the way down the hill to Rae's Creek,'' said Green, who three-putted five greens Friday.

Greg Norman offered a more serious estimate.

''These greens are two feet faster than I've ever seen them,'' said Norman, who four-putted his way out of the lead.

''You just can't make the slightest mistake on these greens, or it's disaster,'' said Norman, an Australian-born Orlando resident, who is three strokes behind the leader, Seve Ballesteros.

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After missing the cut with a 152 total, Mac O'Grady predicted his anticipated fine and suspension from PGA Tour Commissioner Deane Beman would be handed down early next week before the Heritage Invitational at Hilton Head. If that happens, O'Grady said he promptly will make available to the media all confidential memos and appeals during the develoment of his ongoing dispute with the Tour. ''Come on to Hilton Head,'' he told a batch of reporters. ''I think it will be worth your while.''

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This from Friday's edition of the Augusta Chronicle, in a story about the severe difficulty of buying a Masters ticket:

''An Orlando, Fla., man . . . was sitting in front of a Washington Road business with his head in his hands. Frustration shone in his eyes.

'' 'It's incredible,' he said. 'I never knew anything was this hard to get into.' He said he made the seven-hour drive to Augusta Tuesday and has yet to find a ticket. 'If I don't find something by tonight, I'm packing it up and going home. It's torture to watch all these people walking right through the gates when I can't even find a ticket.' ''